After Kang shot the tiger, acquaintances of his arrived at the scene, whereupon the group butchered the animal and divided the meat between them, taking it home to eat. Four other men have also been sentenced to terms of three to four years each for their roles in the butchering and eating of the animal.

The case was particularly high-profile because MANY BELIEVE THE TIGER THAT KANG SHOT Was the last INDOCHINESE TIGER IN CHINA. This belief is based on the fact that the animal has not been seen in China since one was photographed by researchers in the same nature reserve in 2007, and has not been seen since the shooting. Only about 1,000 to 2,000 of the species exist, spread across Southeast Asia.

Kang Wannian (pictured above), a villager from Mengla county in Xishuangbanna prefecture was sentenced to 12 years in prison on December 21 and ordered to pay a fine of 480,000 yuan for shooting and eating a rare Indochinese tiger.